Thursday, 7 August 2014

Photos: Meet The World's Richest Hip Hop Stars

Richest Hip Hop Stars (© ASSOCIATED PRESS)
 Kanye West

Worth $110 million

West started as a music producer, eventually getting signed as a rapper. He has since released several successful albums, launched a fashion line, married a reality TV star and displayed the most developed sense of self-publicity this side of a Mylie Cyrus scandal. Word is that he signed a prenuptial agreement with new wife Kim Kardashian, as she is worth about half of what he is.
Their recent wedding cost an estimated $2.8 million  More pics after cut...



Richest Hip Hop Stars (© ASSOCIATED PRESS)
50 Cent

Worth $140 million

Curtis Jackson, known by his stage name 50 Cent, once told Forbes that he hopes to be a billionaire in ten years. The hip hop star’s magnificent rise in riches has been covered quite a fair deal and involves his own hit albums, a clothing line, the G-Unit record label and a variety of savvy business investments.
But 50’s smartest move? Several years ago he endorsed Vitamin Water for a lump sum of $5 million and 5% of company shares. When Coca-Cola bought that company a while later, 50 Cent earned a whopping $100 million after taxes. Yet Jackson is surprisingly thrifty: though he enjoys buying cars and spends over $1 million a year on security, he also famously told boxer Floyd Mayweather Jnr: “Stop Spending Your Money On Hoes!”

 Richest Hip Hop Stars (© ASSOCIATED PRESS)
 Ronald “Slim” Williams

Worth $170 million

Known as the behind-the-scenes guy at Cash Money, Slim has been executive producer for every record released by the label. This has made him very wealthy - in 2012 Slim bought a new home in Florida for $7.15 million - and paid in cash.

 Richest Hip Hop Stars (© ASSOCIATED PRESS)
 Bryan 'Birdman' Williams

Worth $170 million

Bryan Williams, brother of Ronald Williams and co-founder of Cash Money Records, may be as rich as his older brother - or even richer. Some estimates put him well above $200 million. Still, when you have this much cash, who is counting? As with his brother, much of Birdman’s value comes for Cash Money - the most successful hip-hop label in history - where he has helped craft hit records for many top artists.

But unlike Slim, Birdman also enjoys a successful music career and has released a few of his own hits. Having recently launched an oil exploration company with his brother, the heavily-tattooed rapper is bound to get richer. He’ll need it: Birdman loves wearing expensive jewelry, including a $500,000 mouth grill, and has one claimed to have a fleet of over 100 cars, most of which are replaced every six month
 Richest Hip Hop Stars (© ASSOCIATED PRESS)
 Eminem

Worth $190 million

It’s been a real rags-to-riches rise for Eminem aka. Marshall Mathers. Even though he is not as thoroughly diversified as some of the other rappers on this list, Mathers still makes a lot of money from his various albums - one of which remains the fastest selling hip-hop album in history.

He’s also endorsed numerous products and has his own clothing line, as well as the Shady Records music label. Mathers is not really known to be a big spender, though he does live in a $4.6 million mansion and once spent over $80,000 on beauty products.

 Richest Hip Hop Stars (© ASSOCIATED PRESS)
 Russell Simmons

Worth $330 million

Hip-hop is a serious business and its top businessman is Russell Simmons. That is not by accident - Simmons, who co-founded Def Jam records, is often seen (alongside Rick Rubin) as the main force that turned the genre from niche to big time. This cannot be overstated - nearly every major rap name that emerged between the middle Eighties and Nineties was published by Def Jam.

The company has also spawned a wide ecosystem of merchandise and more around hip-hop, including video games and clothing lines. Simmons owns three of his own clothing labels and is also well-invested in other industries. But unlike the hip-hop ethos of bling and cash-money, Simmons is not known to throw around big amounts.

If anything he sounds a bit boring: he is a strict vegan and spends most of his time these days debating political points.

 Richest Hip Hop Stars (© ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Jay Z

Worth $520 million

It was once pondered if Jay Z would be hip-hop’s first billionaire. It’s not that likely anymore, but Shawn Carter is still impressively wealthy and has been a staple in the top 3 richest hip-hop celebrities for several years. Nobody can deny Carter has done very well as a musician with numerous hit records - 15, to be precise, and every one reached platinum status. He also helped raise Kanye West to mogul status.

Carter owns the massive Roc Nation conglomerate, which houses his Roc-A-Fella record label, Roc Nation clothing line and the new Roc Nation Sports, which manages major athletes. His endorsements include Budweiser and HP, and Carter also has stakes in night clubs, sports teams and the massive Def Jam records.

Richest Hip Hop Stars (© ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Dr. Dre

Worth $800 million

So who is the richest man in hip-hop? If you have been watching the news lately, you may have guessed Dr. Dre, crafter of the West Coast hip-hop sound. His career as a producer has seen him elevate artists such as Eminem, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, plus he launched several record labels such as the infamous Death Row label.

But Dre, real name Andre Young, saw his bank statement jump a notch or two when Apple bought Beats, the company Dre co-owned, for $3 billion, of which he personally received at least $700 million. In celebration the doctor bought a Los Angeles mansion for $40 million.

Source- msn.com

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